Page 24 of If We Meet Again

Ashley knew introducing Megan to her friends on a first date was precarious. They loved to wind her up, last year she’d been dating a girl for all of five minutes when they went to the coffee shop she worked in disguised in sunglasses and hats to make sure she wasn’t a ‘catfish’ – Ashley had already met her in person at this point, but they insisted they were just doing somebackgroundchecks. If only they’d act like they worked for the FBI when it actually mattered like the time she lost her watch for three days. Despite this, the desire to spend more time with Megan far outweighed the potential risk of embarrassment.

They were only five minutes away from Ashley’s fifth-floor Chelsea apartment. Megan wrapped her arms around herself; the breeze making it too chilly for just a t-shirt.

“Are you cold?”

“Yes,aren’t you?”

“Not so much, I’m warm-blooded.”

Megan rolled her eyes. “What are you,a werewolf?”

“Maybe.” Ashley grinned, showing her pearly whites, “You better be careful, it’s a full moon tonight.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Megan admitted.

Ashley shifted the bag of Cronuts into the opposite hand and outstretched her left arm, “Come here, I’ll warm you up.”

Megan didn’t hesitate; she fully embraced the invitation to get closer to Ashley. She wrapped one arm around her back and the other around her front, clinching her hands together in a delicate bear-like hold. Megan had to slouch slightly due to the one-inch height difference, but that didn’t stop her. There was absolutely no benefit to the embrace; there would be no sudden rush of warmth, Ashley knew that, but it was an opportunity to feel her touch that she couldn’t pass up.

The search throughout the day for an opportunity to kiss her had gone amiss. She thought the intertwined hands on the bench in Central Park could have been the moment, but it didn’t materialise. The nerves were still present. Despite feeling comfortable in her presence there was still a perception that she needed to impress—that she couldn’t quite let her guard down. The prospect of Megan spending the night had not occurred until they were four drinks in at Nancy’s. Those exact words had not been said, but Ashley assumed that was the plan.

“What did you say your friends are called again?”

“Madisonand Emily.”

“Okay.”

“Why?”

“Just want to make sure I get it right.”

“Don’t worry about them, just ignore anything they say unless it’s‘hello’, we don’t need to stop and chat, we can head straightto my room.”

“Are you scared they might say something that’ll embarrass you?” Megan teased.

“Somethinglike that.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll stick my fingersin my ears.”

“That would be great,” Ashley laughed.

The chemistry between them was unmistakable. They strolled toward her apartment entwined as one, as though they were doing something they did daily. To anyone else in the street, they looked as though they knew each other deeply, the way they embraced, the way they laughed and poked fun at each other so effortlessly.

The night ending at that moment filled Ashley with a sense of wrongdoing, just the mere thought brought about a sadness she couldn’t understand. All she could hope was that Megan felt the same.

They stopped at the foot of some sandstone steps; a brown, wooden door awaited at the top with two large glass panes and an intercom to the right with the numbers 1–12. Within minutes, they stood in the corridor of the fifth-floor apartment that Ashleycalled home.

“Here we go,” Ashley muttered underher breath.

Upon entering, the apartment was silent. No sign of Madison or Emily, “That’s weird.”

Ashley removed her shoes at the door, prompting Megan todo the same.

“Guys?” Ashley approached the kitchen with caution. “Hello?”

The Cronuts made their safe arrival on the countertop before she made her way around the kitchen towards the fridge. From behind the counter, out of nowhere, jumped Madison and Emily.

“Boo!” they screamed.